January 3, 2005 Regular Meeting

The City Council met in regular session on January 3, 2005 at 7:30 P.M. in the Council Chambers of City Hall.

Mayor Vanderwall presided

Councilmembers present:

Wes Lester
Bruce Walker
Georgia DeHaas
James Zehner
Jane Kissinger
Brian Lorentz

City employees present were Public Works Director Gortsema, Chief Sedam, City Attorney Albers and Clerk Kennedy.

The meeting was called to order and the minutes of the December 20th regular meeting were approved as presented by Councilwoman DeHaas second by Councilwoman Kissinger. Motion carried by a unanimous vote of the Council present.

FUEL BID OPENING: Councilman Lester asked to abstain from voting since he is the Vice President of the Primeland Board. Mayor Vanderwall accepted his request. Fuel bids were received from Primeland and Jacobs Oil as follows:

Jacobs Oil: Unleaded Gasoline 12,000 gallons @ 1.585/gal. = $19,020.00 Diesel 6,000 gallons @ 1.399/gal. = $8,394.00 Total Bid = $27,414.00

Primeland: Unleaded Gasoline 12,000 gallons @ 1.501/gal. = $18,012.00 Diesel 6,000 gallons @ 1.233/gal. = $7,398.00 Total Bid = $25,410.00

On motion by Councilman Walker, second by Councilman Zehner to award the low bid to Primeland in the amount of $25,410.00. Motion carried. Councilman Lester abstained.

VISITORS: Shaun Maxey informed the Council of three items of interest as follows: 1. A steering committee for a corridor study for Highway 95 will be held at the Soltman Center on January 6th 2. The Ida-Lew Board will meet on January 25th at 6:30 p.m. with a location in Grangeville to be announced and 3. A Business Assistance Workshop will be held on January 25th.

Walter Steed was present to update the Council on the Section 504 CDBG Handicap Accessibility Transition Plan recommendations from the ADA Committee. The ADA Committee met on December 6th and listed certain concerns. Some of these concerns were untrimmed brush obstructing the sidewalks, site restrictions at intersections, signage on bathrooms, and uneven and icy sidewalks. Walter has provided a Transition Plan for the Council to review, modify if necessary and then adopt. Because the project is substantially complete, the grant is close to being closed out.

COMMITTEE REPORTS: Public Works Director Gortsema explained that the Water Grant Project is substantially complete as of last Wednesday. The second pump was installed at Hall Street and the generators all work as they should and have been put into service.

Chief of Police Sedam summarized the monthly report, reporting that the department responded to 206 calls for service. There were 130 cases written, 33 arrests, 54 citations and 6 written warnings issued. The Police and Animal Control Report for December 2004 was accepted on motion by Councilman Lester, second by Councilwoman Kissinger. Motion carried by a unanimous vote of the Council present.

Public Works Director Gortsema presented the Water Leak report for December 2004 and reported that the department repaired 9 leaks (182 year to date) and installed no new services.

PROPOSED SNOW ORDINANCE: Public Works Director Gortsema explained that the biggest problem Public Works has with snow is those that use 4 wheelers to plow the snow into the street and those that plow the driveway and leave a berm at the gutter directly at the end of their driveway. After listening to discussion, Rich Workman opposed the ordinance stating that it could cause more problems on sidewalks where there is no where to go with the snow, for example the Christian Church. The Council reviewed the proposed changes in the snow ordinance and after discussion decided not to act on the ordinance at this time.

REQUEST FOR WATER AND SEWER: Brad Frei submitted a letter requesting a definite approval or denial of water and sewer services for the Williams property on the South West end of town given that he 1. Does not intend to annex to the City 2. Will soon or in the future develop the land to full capacity allowed by zoning laws and 3. Understands that they would have the costs of engineering and installing the entire system according to City specifications. Earlier in the day, Clerk Kennedy called and spoke with Brad to find out what the maximum hookups would be. Brad told Clerk Kennedy it would be approximately 50 residential hookups and a 40 room hotel on the commercial property. Councilwoman DeHaas stated she couldn’t agree to all three items. Councilman Walker felt the City needed a plat and a specific request so the City would know when he would tie up the connections available. He felt Brad needed to start the subdivision process so the Council would know where he was headed and in what timeframe. The City needs to grant water and sewer on a first come first service instead of tying up the connections for an unspecified timeframe. Councilman Lester stated that J-U-B had reminded the Council to only issue a few permits at a time. Councilman Lorentz felt that granting the request would be like writing a blank check. He interpreted the request as a guarantee for services for whatever Brad wanted to do. The Council needs control to be able to serve the City; however the City is not antigrowth or antidevelopment. Councilwoman Kissinger made a motion to deny the request as presented because it was incomplete and doesn’t follow pre-application procedures for a subdivision. Motion carried by a unanimous vote of the Council present.

CONSENT AGENDA: Councilman Walker moved, second by Councilwoman DeHaas to accept the following items as part of the consent agenda.

A. Approve the following Boards and Commissions:

Library Board: Carol Yalbuw, Jason Stinnett, Kay Stumpf, Joan Hall, David Rauzi

Planning and Zoning Commission: Paul Eimers (2006), Wilmer Seaver (2006), Nancy Kaschmitter (2006), Michael Cook (2005), Hunter Edwards (2005), Glenn Edwards (2005), Dick Haener (2007), Darcie Bentley (2007)

Snowhaven Ski Board: James Kingma, John Urbahn, Jerry Hill, Mike Brewster, Pauline Sullivan, Judy Purdy, Kim Peterson, Tomianne Whitien

Snowhaven Expansion Committee: Todd Marek, Mike Sturdevant, Kevin Asker, Paul Eimers, James Kingma, John Lamb, Mac McBoyle, James Rockwell

ADA Committee: Councilmembers Kissinger and DeHaas, Connie Workman, Dock Stroop, Lynda Allen, Mark Gravatt

Roll call vote on the motion.

Councilwoman DeHaas - Yes
Councilwoman Kissinger - Yes
Councilman Walker - Yes
Councilman Lorentz - Yes
Councilman Lester - Yes
Councilman Zehner - Yes

The motion passed.

Councilwoman Kissinger moved, second by Councilman Walker to accept the following items as part of the consent agenda.

B. Council Committees for 2005

Roll call vote on the motion.

Councilwoman DeHaas - Yes
Councilwoman Kissinger - Yes
Councilman Walker - Yes
Councilman Lorentz - Yes
Councilman Lester - Yes
Councilman Zehner - Yes

The motion passed.

RESCHEDULE REGULAR MEETING: A motion was made by Councilwoman Kissinger, second by Councilman Lester to hold the second meeting of the month on January 24th, due to Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday. Motion carried by a unanimous vote of the Council present. Mayor Vanderwall stated that J-U-B will be presenting their final report to the City on the Water and Sewer Analysis.

P & Z APPOINTMENTS: On motion by Councilman Zehner, second by Councilman Lester to re-appoint Mike Cook, Glenn Edwards and Hunter Edwards to the Planning and Zoning Commission for three year terms expiring in January 2008. Motion carried by a unanimous vote of the Council present.

TECHNICAL REVIEW COMMITTEE: Mayor Vanderwall asked that the Council confirm his appointment of Mike Sturdevant, Tim Kaschmitter and Dan Tackett to the technical review committee. Councilwoman Kissinger made a motion, second by Councilman Lester to approve the Mayor’s appointment of Mike Sturdevant, Tim Kaschmitter and Dan Tackett to the technical review committee for subdivisions. Motion carried by a unanimous vote of the Council presented.

BUILDING INSPECTOR CONTRACT: Clerk Kennedy explained that the State adopted the 2003 International Building Codes and the City’s ordinance automatically adopts versions as they are adopted by the State. Now the contract with the State needs to be revised to read the 2003 Codes instead of 2000. A motion was made by Councilman Lester, second by Councilman Zehner to authorize the Mayor to sign the Building Inspection Contract. Motion carried by a unanimous vote of the Council present.

DEBCO CHANGE ORDER #7: Public Works Director Gortsema explained that this change order is the clean up items for the grant project. Debco is currently questioning some of the days allowed in the contract time but the amount of the change order would not vary. Councilman Lester made a motion, second by Councilman Zehner to approve change order #7 for $8,801.77. Motion carried by a unanimous vote of the Council present.

ITEMS TO NOTE: A workshop is scheduled January 10th at 7:00 p.m. to discuss water and sewer hookups.

The meeting adjourned at 9:00 P.M.


_________________________________
Terry Vanderwall - Mayor

ATTEST:


_________________________
Tonya Kennedy – City Clerk